Advantages of Waterjet Machining

Waterjet technology utilizes water that travels at extremely fast speeds and very high pressure to erode a material being cut. It is a basically a six-process technology that involve a high velocity stream of rough particles suspended in a stream of extremely high pressure water. A big assortment of heat-sensitive, delicate or very hard materials is used in machining. Sintered boride usually comprises the nozzles. The technology also produces no damage caused by heat to the work piece edges and surface, and a taper of less than one degree on most cuts. Lastly, this technology shows that the distance of nozzle from work piece affects the size of the kerf and the material’s removal rate.

If we are to highlight one major advantage with water jet machining, it is its ability to cut virtually any material up to five inches thick. In the case of ship manufacturing for example that utilizes various types of metals, waterjet cutting is among the many metal cutting processes that shipyards largely utilize. With other methods that use heat to cut metals, waterjet cutting doesn’t weaken metals cause by additional heat. With that, this technology doesn’t produce hazardous waste versus traditional cutting methods as well because large pieces of reusable scrap metals can be cut off into finer pieces. Aside from that, waterjets use very clear little water that can be recycled.

Airborne dust particles are also minimized by waterjet machining. Gone as well are smoke, fuse, and contaminants from cutting metals through more traditional cutting processes. We already know that these particles are damaging when inhaled, especially among those with lung problems.

When compared to laser cutters, waterjets are much lighter to use. They are also light when mounted on an automated roof. This results to a reduction in energy while using waterjet cutting systems. Still, there is a comparable result between waterjet cutting and laser cutting. When compared to stamping, no tooling is required in waterjet cutting. There is lesser taper on thick parts and quicker turnaround time. When compared to Wire EDM, waterjet cutting is five to ten times faster. Waterjet machining can also pierce directly through any conductive or nonconductive materials.